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Updated October 17, 2026, 15:50 BRT (18:50 UTC). Tesla’s pages, Tesla’s and Elon Musk’s posts on X, manufacturer spec pages and NASA/JPL orbit data checked October 17, 2026. We’ll update this page as Tesla publishes more.
TL;DR
TL;DR
- The headline stunt: a thruster-assisted jump over five parked Teslas (Model 3, Model Y, Cybertruck, Semi, Cybercab) that Tesla’s engineering VP called “a kick flip.” Tesla says flight is a Rocket-trim feature, and Rocket is invite-only and “not approved for public road use.”
- It was an unveiling, not a sale. On the evening of October 15, 2026, Tesla showed a Roadster prototype in a live demo at a SpaceX test site in McGregor, Texas. There’s no price for any version and no delivery date.
- Three versions: Performance (seats two, “by reservation”), Thrust (seats two, rear cold-gas thrusters, “limited release”) and Rocket (seats one, “invite only,” “not approved for public road use”).
- Acceleration, as Tesla claims it: 0–60 mph in under 1.6 s (Performance), under 1 s (Thrust; Tesla’s X post also lists under 0.9 s) and under 0.59 s (Rocket). The sub-second claims need thruster trims: Thrust (“limited release”) and Rocket (invite-only, “not approved for public road use”). On stage, Tesla timed a thruster-equipped prototype at 0.81 s, or 0.67 s with rollout subtracted. None has been independently tested.
- Reservation: $5,000 plus $45,000 within 10 days. Production in “2028” is Musk’s statement.
- Like for like: Tesla’s claimed 0.67 s (rollout subtracted) compares with Rimac’s published 1.74 s 0–60 mph for the Nevera (one-foot rollout). Tesla didn’t say how much rollout it subtracted; Rimac’s figure uses a one-foot rollout.
What actually happened on October 15, 2026
Tesla livestreamed the event on X at 00:54 UTC on October 16 (evening of October 15 in Texas; 21:54 BRT) (@Tesla). Reuters and Car and Driver place it at SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas; The Verge describes the location as Waco, the nearest city (Reuters via Investing.com, Car and Driver, The Verge).
Car and Driver notes the stunt prototype wasn’t the car shown on stage: the wheels differed.
There was no price, delivery date, power figure or battery size; The Verge called it “more like a stunt show than a product reveal.” Musk said production would start in 2028, per Car and Driver.
The kickflip over five Teslas: what the sources show
Tesla posted its own 44-second video of the stunt on X as “Do a kickflip!” (October 16, 2026, 02:49 UTC) and on YouTube as “The Kickflip | Roadster,” described as “The 2nd live demo during the Roadster event” (published October 15, 2026, 19:52 Pacific).
What the reports say happened, attributed:
- What it was: a jump assisted by cold-gas thrusters, not sustained flight. TechCrunch: the car “used the thrusters to lift itself over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y, and Model 3 while in motion.” Reuters: it “used the thrusters to jump over a truck and other vehicles, twisting in the air during the maneuver.” The Verge wrote that it “flew over the rest of Tesla’s lineup.”
- The name: Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of engineering, called it “a kick flip,” per The Verge. Tesla’s X post uses “kickflip.” None of the sources we read calls it a backflip.
- How many cars: five, the same five models in The Verge and TechCrunch.
- The hardware: Moravy said the car uses 10 thrusters fed by 600 liters of compressed air “to lift and spin the car in midair,” per TechCrunch.
- The first stunt: before the jump, the car drove up a tall curved ramp to an upside-down position using fan suction (The Verge reports up to 2 g), then used its thrusters to turn and come back down.
- Remote control: Musk said the demo car was controlled remotely “to make sure we don’t kill anyone,” per The Guardian. Tesla hasn’t published details. Not disclosed: how high it went and how much air one jump uses.
- Which trim: Tesla’s page says flight is “available with the Rocket trim only, which is not available in all regions.” Rocket is “invite only” and “not approved for public road use.” Tesla didn’t label the demo car’s trim.
Official specs, trim by trim
Tesla’s Roadster page returned “Access Denied” to our servers, so we read it through a fetch service on October 17, 2026. Its numeric spec blocks didn’t come through, so those figures come from Tesla’s configurations post on X, also reported by Electrek and The Verge.
| Performance | Thrust | Rocket | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla’s description | “Road ready with seating for two” | “Race ready with seating for two” | “Air ready with seating for one” |
| Availability | “By Reservation” | “Limited Release” | “Invite Only” |
| Hardware | Active aerodynamics and a “multi-mode suction system” | Suction system plus “cold-gas thrusters in the rear of the vehicle” | Suction plus thrusters “around the perimeter,” a “full flight system” |
| 0–60 mph (Tesla claims) | Under 1.6 s (Tesla’s X post) | “Under 1 second” (Tesla’s page); under 1 s and under 0.9 s (Tesla’s X post) | Under 0.59 s (Tesla’s X post) |
| Top speed (Tesla claims) | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Over 230 mph (Tesla’s X post; also said on stage, per Reuters) |
| Range | Over 300 miles, a target (The Verge: “target range exceeding 300 miles”) | Not disclosed separately | Not disclosed separately |
| Road use | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | “Not approved for public road use” |
| Price | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Reservation | $5,000 due today (“fully refundable”) plus $45,000 within 10 days | $250,000 deposit (Reuters, from Tesla’s reservation page) | Invite only |
Sources, checked October 17, 2026: Tesla Roadster page; Tesla reservation page; @Tesla configurations post (Oct 16, 2026 UTC); Electrek (Oct 15, 2026); The Verge (Oct 16, 2026 UTC); Reuters (Oct 15, 2026).
Notes: TechCrunch says all three trims exceed 230 mph; Electrek and The Verge tie that figure to Rocket only. For Thrust, Tesla’s page says “under 1 second”; its X post lists both under 1 s and under 0.9 s. Tesla’s footnote says the features shown “are reflective of our Thrust augment only,” with flight “with the Rocket trim only.”
Not disclosed by Tesla as of October 17, 2026: final price of any version, power output, battery capacity, 0–100 km/h, curb weight, delivery date and road homologation.
What was timed on stage
Tesla posted “0-60 mph in 0.81 seconds” and, in a reply, “0.67 seconds (w/ rollout subtracted)” (@Tesla, reply). Car and Driver reports an earlier run at a claimed one second. Tesla didn’t say which trim the timed car represents; Car and Driver reports the runs used “four rear-mounted thrusters,” hardware Tesla lists for Thrust (and Rocket, which includes Thrust). No independent timing has been published.
The software under the hood
By-wire controls and active aero
Tesla’s page says the yoke “is designed specifically for steer by wire” and describes “a next-gen steer-by-wire system.” The Verge reports that steering, brakes and throttle are all by-wire. Tesla’s X account says the active wing’s “actuation [is] driven by the @Tesla_Optimus actuator system,” the same actuator family as its humanoid robot, and claims “the best passive downforce package of any road car (approaching F1 levels!)” (@Tesla). Car and Driver reports the wing adjusts its pitch automatically.
Thrusters and suction: control software, not just hardware
Tesla says its “cold-gas thrusters use all-electric actuators,” making “micro adjustments within a fraction of a second” to “stabilize the vehicle in flight.” On X, Tesla said that making thrusters work “in a vehicle instead of a vacuum took all-new hardware & controls” (@Tesla), and that the system “generates 4–5x the force the tires can” (@Tesla). Car and Driver reports over 80 kN of thrust; The Verge reports about 250 kg of stored air. Both are event claims.
The suction side is just as software-heavy. Tesla says the fan system provides “enough suction to hold the vehicle upside down, even when stationary,” and The Verge reports up to 2 g of suction.
“Tricks… autonomously”: Musk’s claim vs. what exists
On October 17, Musk replied on X: “You will be able to ask the Roadster to perform any of the tricks shown autonomously, as it will be sentient” (@elonmusk). Not confirmed. Tesla hasn’t published any autonomy feature, hardware or timeline for the Roadster. Its own messaging calls it “the best of the last human-driven cars” (@Tesla). Treat the autonomy line as a promise.
2017 promises vs. 2026 reality
| Promised in 2017 | Stated in October 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| 0–60 mph | 1.9 s | Under 1.6 s (Performance), Tesla claims |
| Top speed | Over 250 mph | Over 230 mph (Rocket only), Tesla claims |
| Range | 620 miles (200 kWh battery) | Over 300 miles, a target; battery not disclosed |
| Seats | 2+2 (Electrek) | Two at most; Rocket seats one |
| Base price | $200,000 | Not disclosed |
| Deliveries | 2020 | Production “2028” (Musk); no delivery date |
| Reservation | $50,000 ($250,000 Founders Series) | $50,000 (Performance), $250,000 (Thrust) |
2017 figures as reported by The Verge and Electrek on October 15–16, 2026.
Acceleration improved on paper; range, top speed and seats went backward.
How its claimed acceleration compares
Rules for this table: every rival figure comes from its maker’s own page, checked October 17, 2026, exactly as published. 0–60 mph and 0–100 km/h aren’t the same test, and a one-foot rollout cuts time, so we label every metric and don’t convert between them. Where a maker doesn’t publish a time, we say so.
| Car | Time | Metric | Source and status | Directly comparable with Tesla’s 0.67 s? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla Roadster (prototype) | 0.67 s | 0–60 mph, rollout subtracted | Tesla claims; on-stage demo, thruster-equipped prototype, not independently tested | — |
| Tesla Roadster (prototype) | 0.81 s | 0–60 mph, rollout not subtracted | Tesla claims; same demo | No (different rollout basis) |
| Tesla Roadster trims | Under 1.6 s / under 1 s (X post also: under 0.9 s) / under 0.59 s | 0–60 mph, rollout not stated | Tesla claims for Performance / Thrust / Rocket | Unclear (rollout not stated) |
| Rimac Nevera | 1.74 s | 0–60 mph, one-foot rollout | Published by Rimac | Yes |
| Rimac Nevera | 1.81 s | 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph), one-foot rollout | Published by Rimac | No (different metric) |
| Rimac Nevera R | 1.72 s | 0–100 km/h | Published by Rimac | No (different metric) |
| Bugatti Tourbillon | 2.0 s | 0–100 km/h (62 mph) | Published by Bugatti | No (different metric) |
| Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut | Not published | — | No acceleration time on Koenigsegg’s page | — |
| Koenigsegg Gemera | Not published | — | No acceleration time on Koenigsegg’s page | — |
| Lotus Evija | 9.2 s | 0–300 km/h (no 0–60 mph or 0–100 km/h published) | Published by Lotus | No (different metric) |
| Bugatti Chiron Super Sport | 2.4 s | 0–100 km/h (62 mph) | Published by Bugatti (newsroom spec PDF) | No (different metric) |
Sources, checked October 17, 2026: Rimac Nevera (Nevera and Nevera R blocks; “one foot roll-out” footnote); Bugatti Tourbillon; Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut; Koenigsegg Gemera; Lotus Evija; Bugatti Chiron Super Sport spec PDF; Tesla’s 0.81 s and 0.67 s posts. Bugatti’s Chiron Super Sport model page showed a browser-verification screen, so we used Bugatti’s official newsroom PDF instead.
What the comparison does and doesn’t show:
- The one like-for-like pair is Tesla’s 0.67 s against the Nevera’s 1.74 s, both 0–60 mph with rollout taken out, though Tesla didn’t say how much rollout it subtracted. Per Tesla’s claim, it would be the quickest 0–60 in this table. That’s a Tesla claim for a thruster-equipped prototype, while Rimac’s is a published spec for a production car.
- The thrusters are the reason. Tesla says they generate “4–5x the force the tires can,” which is how it claims to get past the grip limit every other car has. The sub-second claims depend on thruster hardware, offered on Thrust (“limited release”) and Rocket (invite-only, not road-approved).
- No data on the rest: Tesla hasn’t published power, test conditions or homologation.
Starman: the first Roadster is still in orbit
Tesla said “Roadster and a rocket have shared a ride before” (@Tesla); Musk wrote, “My OG Roadster is still orbiting Mars and Earth” (@elonmusk). Strictly, it orbits the Sun, on a path that crosses the orbits of Earth and Mars.
According to NASA/JPL’s Horizons system (object −143205, “Tesla Roadster (AKA: Starman, 2018-017A)”), the car lifted off on February 6, 2018, at 20:45 UTC aboard the first Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A.
Orbit data, JPL Horizons object −143205 (Tesla Roadster), queried October 17, 2026 (JPL solution #11, revised January 3, 2025; heliocentric osculating elements, ecliptic J2000, epoch 2026-Oct-17 00:00 TDB):
| Element | Value |
|---|---|
| Perihelion distance | 0.9861 AU (147.51 million km) |
| Aphelion distance | 1.6645 AU (249.00 million km) |
| Semi-major axis | 1.3253 AU (198.26 million km) |
| Eccentricity | 0.2560 |
| Inclination | 1.0748° |
| Orbital period | about 557.3 days |
| Next perihelion | about April 1, 2027 (TDB) |
| Distance from the Sun (Oct 17, 2026, 00:00 TDB) | 1.4951 AU |
| Distance from Earth (Oct 17, 2026, 00:00 TDB) | 0.66457 AU, about 99.4 million km |
The 2020 Mars flyby, checked against JPL: Horizons lists a Mars close approach on 2020 October 7.268 TDB at a nominal 0.049505 AU (3-sigma range 0.048930 to 0.050173 AU), about 7.4 million km. Our hourly Horizons query of the Roadster’s distance from Mars agrees: the minimum is on October 7, 2020, near 06:00 UTC, at 0.04950 AU. JPL predicts a closer Mars pass in April 2035 (nominal 0.016 AU).
What’s demo vs. what’s product
| Shown or said | Status today |
|---|---|
| Upside-down ramp drive; thruster-assisted kickflip over five parked Teslas | Staged demo with a prototype; Tesla says flight is Rocket-only; remote-controlled, per Musk (The Guardian) |
| 0.81 s / 0.67 s (rollout subtracted) to 60 mph | Tesla-timed on a thruster prototype; not independently verified |
| 0–60 claims per trim, 230+ mph, 300+ mi | Tesla claims, without test conditions |
| Price, power, battery, weight, 0–100 km/h | Not disclosed |
| Delivery date, homologation | Not disclosed; Rocket is “not approved for public road use” |
| Production in 2028 | Musk’s statement |
| Autonomous tricks, “sentient” car | Musk’s post; no Tesla specification |
As in 2017, the commercial details are left for later. Musk told the crowd it’s “not necessarily a safety-optimized car,” per The Verge and Car and Driver.
Unknowns
- Price of Performance, Thrust and Rocket
- Power, battery capacity and curb weight
- 0–100 km/h and whether the 0–60 claims include rollout
- Delivery date and which regions get which trims (Tesla says Rocket “is not available in all regions”)
- Homologation for Performance and Thrust, and any aviation approval for the Rocket trim, which Tesla says can fly
- Demo details: how high the kickflip went
How we evaluated
On October 17, 2026, we read Tesla’s pages (via a fetch service; Tesla blocked direct requests), Tesla’s and Musk’s posts on X, Tesla’s kickflip video listing, and Reuters, The Verge, TechCrunch, Electrek and Car and Driver. Rival figures come only from maker pages; orbit data comes straight from NASA/JPL Horizons. We didn’t attend, drive or time anything.
FAQ
Is the new Tesla Roadster available to buy? No. You can reserve the Performance version ($5,000 today plus $45,000 within 10 days), and Reuters reports a $250,000 deposit for Thrust; Rocket is invite-only. Tesla hasn’t disclosed a price for any version.
How quick is the 2026 Tesla Roadster? Tesla claims 0–60 mph in under 1.6 s for Performance, under 1 s for Thrust (Tesla’s X post also lists under 0.9 s) and under 0.59 s for Rocket. On stage it timed a prototype at 0.67 s with rollout subtracted. None has been independently tested. Tesla also claims a top speed of over 230 mph for Rocket.
Did the Tesla Roadster really fly over other cars? In a staged demo, a prototype used cold-gas thrusters to jump over five parked Teslas, a move Tesla calls a kickflip. Tesla says flight is a Rocket-only feature, and Rocket is invite-only and not approved for public road use.
When will Tesla Roadster deliveries start? Not disclosed. Musk said production would start in 2028.
Where is the original Tesla Roadster now? In orbit around the Sun. On October 17, 2026, NASA/JPL Horizons put it about 0.665 AU (roughly 99.4 million km) from Earth.
Sources (checked October 17, 2026, ~15:00–15:30 BRT)
- Tesla, Roadster: https://www.tesla.com/roadster (read via fetch service; direct requests returned “Access Denied”)
- Tesla, Reserve: https://www.tesla.com/en_US/roadster/reserve (same)
- @Tesla on X (Oct 16, 2026 UTC): https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110897247663853658 · https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110905588402295283 · https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110905133785829671 · https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110904290743402880 · https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110904620948267152 · https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110963770763649487 · https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110964095696723984 · https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110899607396081720 · https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110901359952408576
- @elonmusk on X: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2110947164512038931 (Oct 16, 2026 UTC) · https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2111354696854114702 (Oct 17, 2026 UTC)
- Reuters via Investing.com (Oct 15, 2026, updated Oct 16): https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/tesla-set-to-unveil-next-generation-roadster-sports-ev-after-years-of-delay-4951021
- The Verge (Oct 16, 2026 UTC): https://www.theverge.com/transportation/1012552/tesla-roadster-next-gen-reveal-elon-musk
- Electrek (Oct 15, 2026): https://electrek.co/2026/10/15/tesla-unveils-cyberfied-new-roadster-kickflip/
- The Guardian (Mark Sweney, Oct 16, 2026): https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/16/elon-musk-reveals-worlds-first-flying-car-spacex
- TechCrunch (Oct 15, 2026): https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/15/tesla-reveals-spacex-powered-roadster-that-flies-and-falls-with-style/
- Tesla on YouTube, “The Kickflip | Roadster” (Oct 15, 2026 PT): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5vsHHPVhJg · @Tesla “Do a kickflip!” (Oct 16, 2026, 02:49 UTC): https://x.com/Tesla/status/2110926164306931860
- Car and Driver (updated Oct 16, 2026): https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a74145531/tesla-roadster-revealed/
- Rimac: https://www.rimac-automobili.com/nevera/ · Bugatti: https://www.bugatti.com/en/models/tourbillon · Koenigsegg: https://www.koenigsegg.com/model/jesko-absolut · https://www.koenigsegg.com/model/gemera · Lotus: https://www.lotuscars.com/en-GB/evija · Bugatti Chiron Super Sport PDF: https://bugatti-newsroom.imgix.net/6673edce31d99cf64fc74087/211122_BU_Chiron%20Super%20Sport_ENG.pdf
- JPL Horizons object −143205 (Tesla Roadster), NASA/JPL Horizons API: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/api/horizons.api (queried Oct 17, 2026)